KITZBUEHEL, Austria -- Canadian Ben Thomsen punched his ticket to the Sochi Winter Games on Saturday. Maillot Blaise Matuidi Paris Saint-Germain . The 26-year-old native of Invermere, B.C., finished 12th in a World Cup downhill race over the legendary Hahnenkamm course. Thomsen met the Tier 1 criteria for nomination to Canadas Olympic team in the final race before the qualification window closed. Hannes Reichelt became the first Austrian winner of the event in eight years on Saturday, posting a time of two minutes 3.38 seconds. Norways Aksel Lund Svindal was second in 2:03.59 while American Bode Miller took third in 2:03.72. Starting 50th overall, Thomsen had a time of 2:04.80. Vancouvers Manuel Osborne-Paradis was 16th while Jeffrey Frisch, of Mont-Tremblant, Que., was 28th to earn his first top-30 World Cup result of the season. "Its been a whole season of just trying to get in the points," said Thomsen, whose best previous World Cup result this season was 37th in downhill in Bormio, Italy. "You lose so much confidence when youre not getting results. "I wanted to go out there and I wanted to get an amazing result. For me, 12th was an amazing result. It was just good enough -- Im so happy I wasnt 13th! I would put it in the top-five best runs of my life, feeling-wise." Thomsen went into the race knowing he needed a top-12 finish to secure an Olympic berth. When he crossed the finish line Saturday, Thomsen let out a loud yell. "Theres just something about Kitzbuhel,"he said. "There are so many people here and they love ski racing so much. "Its been a tough year but the team is always right behind you, pushing you, supporting you. When you come through the finish area and you look over to your teammates and see them smiling and celebrating its really special." With the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone looking on, Reichelt avoided the mistakes his rivals had made earlier. He was loudly cheered by 50,000 spectators when the green light for the fastest time appeared on the time table in the finish area. "This is like dream," said Reichelt, and admitted he had "little tears in my eyes" during the flower ceremony. "Being an Austrian, coming down this course and winning here in front of all these fans, is a huge present," he said. "This is a real highlight of my career. If you win here, you are a legend." Michael Walchhofer was the last Austrian to win in Kitzbuehel in 2006, and Reichelts victory will be a big boost to the Austrian mens team two weeks before the start of the Sochi Olympics. The former "Wunderteam" left Vancouver without a medal four years ago and is poised to improve next month. Just 15 minutes before the race, Reichelt wasnt even sure he was going to start. Suffering from persistent back problem, the 33-year-old Austrian did some free skiing to find out whether he would be able to compete without unbearable pain. "I wasnt feeling too well (Saturday)," Reichelt said. "But I dont want to talk too much about my back problems. "If you win a race, it cant be too bad." Reichelt celebrated his seventh career win but only second in the discipline. Reichelt was also the last Austrian to win a World Cup downhill, in Bormio in 2012. By finishing second, Svindal extended his lead in the overall standings to 102 points over second-place Marcel Hirscher of Austria, who doesnt compete in downhill. Svindal also tops the downhill standings, leading Reichelt by 440-360 points. The Norwegian, who won a super-G here last year, is still chasing his first downhill win at the Streif. "Coming second in Kitzbuehel isnt too bad for a result," Svindal said. "Bode had a mistake, otherwise he would have been unbeatable. I was happy that I was ahead of him when I finished, but I knew you could be faster. And Hannes showed just that." It was the first downhill podium for Miller in almost two years. The American returned to the circuit this season after sitting out the complete 2012-13 campaign following micro-fracture surgery on his left knee. Miller had dominated the only training session two days ago but had a costly mistake during the race when he came off the race line at the Seidalm section halfway down the course. "Winning training runs doesnt do it for you," Miller said. "Youve got to execute on race day. Its too many times that Ive made these stupid mistakes that arent really forced. They are not forced errors. Its not on a tough part of the course, its just a real basic part. So, its pretty heartbreaking." The Hahnenkamm weekend is concluded by two World Cup events Sunday, with a super-G race that also counts as the first portion of a super-combined, followed by one floodlit slalom run. Maillot David Luiz . -- Von Miller is back -- and bigger than ever. Maillot Thiago Silva . The three-time All-Star scored 26 points to lead Oklahoma City past the Charlotte Bobcats 116-99 Sunday night. He was 10 of 12 from the floor in 25 minutes in his fifth game since returning from right knee surgery.BARCELONA, Spain -- Atletico Madrid dramatically secured its first Spanish league title in 18 years by rallying for a 1-1 draw at Barcelona on Saturday. Atletico lost Diego Costa and Arda Turan to injury inside 22 minutes, and Barcelona seized control at the Camp Nou in the 34th minute when Alexis Sanchez drove an unstoppable shot into the near corner. Despite the setback, Atletico emerged from the break determined to get back in the match. David Villa hit the post, then Diego Godin fiercely headed home Kokes corner in the 49th. Atletico needed to avoid defeat to secure the title, and it weathered Barcelonas pressure in a frantic finish to cap an improbable domestic success. Atleticos 10th title meant a club besides Barcelona or Real Madrid was Spanish champion for the first time since Valencia in 2004. "Today we could make history," Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. "Not at any moment did I feel that the game was getting away from my team. I know them. I knew they could respond, and the bigger the challenge, the better." Even the 90,000-strong Camp Nou crowd appreciated the feat as it rained cheers of "Atleti" on the players as they celebrated a title triumph that looked uncertain after it lost two of its best attacking players. Atletico finished the 38-game season with 90 points. Barcelona finished second on 87, the same tally as Real Madrid after it closed the season with a 3-1 win over Espanyol. "We fought all season long, hanging on against difficult teams, and against Real Madrid and Barcelona," Godin said. "We felt the pressure, a lot of things were going against us. But the coach told us just to be confident, and believe in ourselves, and the goal would come." It was only the third time the championship was decided by two challengers on the final day, and the first time since 1951. Atletico did it the first time in 1946. Atletico contained Lionel Messi for the sixth time this season as the Argentina forward had a seccond-half goal ruled offside to keep him off the scoresheet. Maillot Angel Di Maria. Not since Espanyol in 1939-40 has a club gone unbeaten in six games in a season against Barcelona. Five of those matches were draws and Atleticos lone victory knocked the Catalan side out of the Champions League. As expected, coach Gerardo Martino said he was stepping down after Barcelona finished the season without a major trophy for the first time since 2008. "We tried it until the end with dignity and we met an opponent that was better than we were," Martino said. "I want to congratulate the great rival Atletico has been during the entire season." Real Madrid will be Atleticos next challenge as the city rivals face off in the Champions League final next Saturday. Both Diego Costa and Turan wept on leaving the pitch after Diego Costa came up lame following a sprint in the 14th, and Turan went out after knocking his right hip. Alexis undid Atleticos defence with a powerful strike from a tight angle after Messi chested down Cesc Fabregas pass and smartly stepped aside for Alexis to smash the ball inside the post. Instead of collapsing, Atletico showed characteristic toughness by finishing the half well with a flurry of corner kicks that Barcelona barely defended. Simeone, who was playing for Atletico the last time the club won the title in 1996, said he told his team at halftime that they were still in it despite trailing and missing two of their most important players in attack. After his pleas for the referee to blow the final whistle were at last answered, several Atletico players collapsed to the ground while Simeone, his staff, and reserves rushed out to join them. Simeone was tossed in the air by his players before the Argentine went into the stands to embrace his father. Earlier, Gareth Bale helped Madrid beat Espanyol after Cristiano Ronaldo apparently aggravated a leg muscle problem during pre-game warmups and didnt play. Valencia also beat Celta Vigo 2-1. Cheap China JerseysCheap NFL JerseysCheap NHL JerseysCheap Jerseys From ChinaChina NFL JerseysCheap JerseysCheap Jerseys ' ' '

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